KUWAIT CITY, 28 August 2005 — Skywatchers in Kuwait will be able to catch a rare glimpse of the International Space Station (ISS) as it passes over the emirate tomorrow evening, an official at Kuwait’s Al-Ojairi Observatory said yesterday.
“The ISS will streak across Kuwaiti skies on Aug. 29 at 6:44 p.m. local time. People will be able to see it with the naked eye and those looking for it will see what they think is either a fast moving star across the sky or an airplane with bright lights,” Fahed Al- Mashhani, deputy manager of the Astronomy Science Department at the Observatory, said.
However, those watching will have only about a five-minute opportunity at sundown to view ISS as it cuts a path across the sky from south to north, he added. Residents in southern Iraq and possibly parts of Iran should also be able to see the station as it passes 400 km overhead, Mashhani noted.
ISS will be changing its course on a more northerly path thus allowing Kuwaitis to see it, he said.
Previously, when ISS passed over Kuwait, people rang the observatory to ask whether a new star or planet had appeared in the sky, Mashhani said.
He expected the passing station to draw plenty of interest from local skywatchers.
